For me May is the true taste of Summer to come. This is a lovely month with our gardens in full Technicolour glory! Now is the time to take advantage of the good weather and really enjoy our gardens.
May is the month of those wonderful ‘forget-me-knots’ (Myosotis) that carpet our gardens in sky-blue. These plants once planted remains ever faithful and return year after year to grace our gardens. Like the forget-me-knots, other hardy annuals like ‘Honesty’ (Lunaria Annua) and ‘Aqulegia Valgaris’ all self-seed so once established in the garden require very little attention if any.
Shrubs and trees in May
Shrubs and trees play a big part in our gardens from the smallest to the largest. May sees them looking their very best as the new leaves unfurl and previously bare branches are now covered in blossom.
One of my favourites is the Crab apple tree which after blossoming will be laden with deep red Crab apples lasting well into winter but for now it’s time to enjoy the profusion of pink and white blossom. If you have the space, plant it on the lawn as the Crab apple tree has a natural weeping habit and so makes this most suitable for growing on the lawn.
A wonderful scented shrub for any garden is ‘The Mexican orange blossom’ (Choisya Ternata). This is a good-looking evergreen shrub and flowers are highly scented, the glossy leaves are aromatic too. This flowers freely from late spring and again in autumn.
Things to do in your garden this month
Now is the time to plant up hanging baskets and make sure they are kept well watered. If they are looked after, you will be rewarded with a continuous display right throughout the summer. A nitrogen feed will keep the plants within the basket well fed and looking good.
With Summer arriving shortly, it is time to liven up your terraces, patios and sitting out areas with pots and containers, filled with colourful displays, making sure your pots and containers have good drainage. For a great display be generous, with your planting filling the pots to capacity for the ultimate results. Add some grit to the surface as this will look good and conserve moisture.
May is a good time to sow new lawns or re-seed any bare patches on your existing lawn and use a lawn feed if the grass needs it. You can now increase mowing to once or twice a week as the lawn will now be in full growth.
At this time of the year weeds can also start to take hold so tend to your borders weekly – hoe regularly, especially on sunny days. Dandelion weeds can be a real nuisance now, so try to remove them as they appear.
If you are thinking of growing a few vegetables, May is a good time to sow outdoors; runner beans, sweet corn, cucumbers, marrows, beetroot and salad crops. You don’t need lots of space to grow your own vegetables as many of them will be happy in containers or among the flower borders. Look out for compact varieties of vegetables that can be grown in containers if space is an issue. Vegetables and fruit always tastes nicer picked straight from the garden.
This May, turn your garden into a visual feast for you to enjoy.
By Tara de la Motte
(Editor of Sussex Homes & Gardens)
www.sussex-homes.co.uk